Tales of a 6 am runner

For about a year now, I've been waking up at 5:45 am on Tuesday and Thursday mornings to run with a few of my lady friends. It's been interesting. Here are a few things we've experienced:
-Dog attacks (true story, ask Alyssa.)
-Forgetting shoes (another true story, ask Alyssa again.)
-Bloody noses (that one's all Rebecca... serious nose-bleedage.)
-Pouring rain (Like REALLY pouring. Like, soaking-wet-within-minutes kind of pouring rain.)
-Insane wind (I'm pretty sure we were running in place for over 3 minutes... true story.)
-Flooded trails (I'm talking ankle-deep water all across the trail.)
-Frozen trails (Both of us almost slipped and feel to our death.)
-Pitch black trails (When the sun doesn't show it's pretty little head until after 7:00 am, and there's no moon, and the clouds are covering ANY kind of natural light that may exist, the trail is pretty stinking dark. Even with TWO headlamps. We sufficiently freaked ourselves out... to the point of seeing a homeless man who wasn't really there... at that point, we turned around.)
-23* weather (No joke. We froze.)
-The 5:47 text message... it usually goes something like this "Do you REALLY want to run this morning?" to which a reply can go one of two ways. Either "I'm in. We're doing this" or "NO! There's NO WAY!" Thankfully, the latter response is almost never used.
-Crazy bikers who freak us out.
-Rude fellow runners who yell at us to move our car. (Yep, ask Alyssa.)

We've seen it all. Rain, wind, snow, floods.... crazy dogs, invisible homeless men, psycho cyclists... It's been so much fun, and I'm so thankful for my running buddies. Without which, I'm sure I'd NEVER drag myself out of bed.
So, here's to great times on the trail at 6 am! And to some wonderful, faithful, dedicated running pals!!

Running, running, RUNNING!

In the summer of 2008 I had back surgery. It was quite a world-stopping moment for me. At the age of 23, I felt invincible... untouchable... but when the shooting pain in my back turned out to be a herniated disk, my life came to a crashing halt. When my chiropractor told me I needed to seek a Neurosurgon consult, I was in disbelief. A week passed, and I found myself prepped and ready for surgery (the dr. I saw informed me that I would eventually lose ALL feeling in my leg, and probably mobility if I didn't proceed fairly quickly.) After a grueling 3 month recovery that consisted of MUCH bed-rest, session after session of Physical Therapy, and frustration you couldn't imagine, I was due for my last dr. appointment. After watching me walk (pain free) up and down the hallway, my dr. told me I was good to go. He informed me that I could continue with a light workout, but nothing too strenuous. I asked when I would be able to get back to running (a deep love of mine). Then, to my shock and surprise, the dr. began laughing at me. Laughing. Out loud. To my face. Laughing. He informed me that I would NEVER run again. That I was crazy to think I would ever have the strength to do so.
Here I am, almost two years later, training for my first of many half marathons. I've been able to successfully complete a 9 mile run. In your face Dr. (who will remain nameless)! I plan to run and finish my half marathon on May first. Don't laugh in my face and tell me I can't do something. I've been back-pain free the entire training process, and proud to say I'm still going strong. I'll be sure to post a picture of my successful achievement... maybe I'll even send one to said Dr. Wouldn't THAT be a laugh?!

River Trail Etiquette

During my 7 mile run, which ended up being more like 7.7 miles, I came up with quite a clever and informative idea for a blog. I feel there needs to be a proper code, or etiquette if you will, for people utilizing the Sacramento River Trail. Here's what I came up, feel free to add to it:

1. Please don't let your dog poop on the trail. That's just gross
2. If your child is riding their bike, please don't allow them to take up the entire trail while people are trying to pass them, and just stare adoringly at them instead of moving them out of the middle of the trail. That's just kind of annoying.
3. Please don't smoke on the trail. My lungs are already working hard. They don't want your second-hand smoke in them to slow them down.
4. If you are riding a bicycle, please don't zig and zag around on both sides of the trail practically RUNNING OVER the river-trail-etiquette-abiding runners on their proper side. That's just rude.

I think I'm going to write to City of Redding and see if they'll post this on their Sacramento River Trail page... I think there's a chance!!

Resolutions and such

So one of my New Years Resolutions was to run a half marathon this year. There were a few factors that aided this resolution... one being that my surgeon told me I'd NEVER run again. Yeah, he told me to get a new hobby because I'd never ever ever EVER run again. Yeah, pretty much don't tell me I can't do something because that will ultimately motivate me beyond measure. Another factor was that I needed a goal to work toward. I figured a full marathon was a bit much to reach for less than a year after major back surgery, but a half marathon would be a GREAT goal to work toward. Today I went on an AMAZING 6 mile run with Sarah. My favorite part of my run is when I get past that 5 mile wall. Once I pass that wall, I feel like I can run forever. For a while, I was stuck at 5 miles... I couldn't break the 5 mile marker to save my life! But thanks to my faithful running buddy Sarah, and the amazingly beautiful river trail, I've been able to successfully break that marker a few times now. The way I look at it, I'm half way to my half marathon... So basically, I just ran a quarter marathon! Yess! Okay, maybe not quite, but like I said, I need a goal! Next goal: 7 miles... any takers? I'm off to soak my feet and hydrate my body... you sweat a LOT running 6 miles!